


Deep Resonance

by XQR



Series: Resonance [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Gen, Separation, whis having feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:43:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28916301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XQR/pseuds/XQR
Summary: Whis has a crisis when he discovers Beerus's planet has been destroyed and Beerus is nowhere to be found in the universe! Teaming up with the kais and Goku, he goes in search of the missing destroyer.
Relationships: Beerus & Whis (Dragon Ball)
Series: Resonance [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127822
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	Deep Resonance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [olcchn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/olcchn/gifts).



> Big shout out to Lecchi who posted a series of tweets: https://twitter.com/olcchn/status/1343244074443296770 which lived in my mind rent-free for a day, so I asked if I could turn the tweets into a fic, and here is the result! Thank you so much for brainstorming with me and letting me run away with this idea! I had a lot of fun, and I hope it lives up to expectations (ngl I felt the pressure to make it good). I’ve set this post-ToP, but before wherever the manga has gone bc I am a bad fan who hasn’t kept up.

Dessert was a pistachio and hazelnut sundae drizzled in a chocolate and hazelnut sauce, topped with chocolate shavings and finished with a wafer sticking out of one of the balls of ice cream. The rich nutty flavour was perfectly balanced with the chocolate, and Whis enjoyed the fact that the pistachio ice cream was green to bring a bit of colour.

Just as he was about to sample the hazelnut ice cream, he felt the atmosphere change – something had just happened. It took a moment for him to figure out what it was – enough time for Bulma to ask him if something was wrong. The spoon clattered on the table, the ample spoon of ice cream splattering across the polished surface.

Of course Bulma couldn’t feel what had disturbed him, so he kept his calm in front of her and excused himself. Once out of sight he materialised his staff and peered into it. It wasn’t often that Whis felt light-headed, in fact, he couldn’t recall such a time, but he felt that now as he looked at the destroyed planet shown in the orb.

He was off-planet before he realised it, speeding back to the destroyer’s home. In the dessert parlour what he had felt was the sudden absence of Beerus’s ki – something that had always been silently there in the background. Of course he was concerned, hence how he dropped the spoon in such an embarrassing fashion, because this was the first time he’d felt it unexpectedly. Of course, there had been times when Whis or Beerus had been in different universes to each other, and the ki of the other couldn’t be felt, but it was different when the separation was planned.

No one would take Beerus to another universe without informing him…right? As far as Whis was aware, his lord was planning to spend the day asleep and wake up in time for Whis’s return with Earth dessert.

As he flew through the universe he couldn’t help but think about the image reflected in his staff of the planet fragmented and scattered across space. He really had lost his composure in that moment, hadn’t he? How unlike him. How embarrassing… He was pretty sure he’d broken through the ceiling of that parlour. Nothing Bulma couldn’t pay for, but he had lost a bit of dignity there. The absence of Beerus’s ki was something akin to suddenly being unable to perceive the colour red – nothing to be overly alarmed about, but to compound that with the state of the planet they both called home felt closer to sucking all of the air from the room. Again, he _could_ live without it, but it was so much more comfortable when it was there.

He was still about 20 minutes away, and this was feeling like the longest trip between Earth and home in his life. Maybe he could shave off a minute or two without Beerus clinging on, but what was he going to find when he got there? Certainly not Beerus. Would he find the culprit that did this? Who in the universe had the power and _audacity_ to destroy a destroyer’s planet? Whis knew what the next question should be, but he wasn’t prepared to ask it. There was no way he was going to entertain the idea that Beerus was no longer among the living.

Despite this, Whis did spent the next 5 minutes of his journey contemplating how things would go if he did get a new destroyer. That was, assuming he would be allowed to remain as the attendant of Universe 7’s destroyer. It wasn’t often that angels swapped positions, but his siblings who used to attend to universes 13 through 18 apparently were eager to hold a position again. If he couldn’t get over the loss of Beerus (when the time came – he definitely wasn’t thinking that time was now!) then perhaps his father would suggest time out on their home planet. Maybe that would be a mercy. He wasn’t sure he could go through the process of training up a new destroyer so soon after losing Beerus.

But if that time _was_ now… Who would the next destroyer be? They’d spent a lot of time training Goku and Vegeta, so would the Grand Minister convince one of them to take up the mantle? Whis hadn’t been looking elsewhere in the universe simply because Beerus had no intention of giving up the position any time soon. And Whis himself had had no intention of losing a destroyer like this.

The sight of debris came into view. He was still several minutes away, but usually he’d be able to see the familiar shape of the inverted pyramid from here. As he came closer he could see the true extent of the damage. Nothing was in-tact. He had hoped that parts of their home within the tree would still be in one piece, but this was an almost perfect shattering of a planet.

“LORD BEERUS!” Whis called, knowing he wouldn’t receive an answer.

He touched down on a piece of smooth black marble that had once been part of the pyramid. Had a destroyer come here? Why? And why would they shatter the planet rather than destroy it until nothing but dust remained? It didn’t make sense, but who else had the power to wreck such havoc and successfully pull off a surprise attack like this?

He closed his eyes and took several breaths. He had to think about this calmly. Logically. In a manner befitting the laws by which angels are governed. First of all –

_The Supreme Kai!_

Whis suddenly realised that there was somewhere he should have gone first. Again, he was moving before he’d really processed it. Maybe if he’d been less hasty back on Earth he could have found Goku in order to use instant transmission to receive an almost instant answer to the question that had his heart beating faster than any respectable angel would care to admit.

If Beerus was truly dead, then Shin would also be dead, and Kibito would be going through the same emotional rollercoaster. Or at least he assumed so. His impression was that Kibito cared about Shin just as much as he cared about Beerus.

It was unfortunate that Beerus and Shin decided to live at opposite ends of the universe, but most of the time this worked out pretty well. Whis began to consider his options again as he travelled. If the Supreme Kai was alive and well then he would likely have to call up his siblings and try not to accuse them of kidnapping his destroyer after destroying their home. However, if the Supreme Kai was also gone… It would only be a matter of time before his father collected him. There would be no point in trying to discover who had done it, for that knowledge would only breed hatred in his heart – hatred he _shouldn’t_ feel. For all he knew, the one who did this would be the next destroyer, and that knowledge would break Whis and put him out of a job for sure.

His touchdown on the Sacred Planet of the Kais was not as delicate as usual, and it surprised the group sitting with their afternoon tea.

“Welcome, Whis, we weren’t expecting you?” Shin was up immediately to greet him.

Whis let out a breath and almost lost his footing as he walked over to collapse on a chair (which was extremely out of character, but etiquette wasn’t high on his list of priorities right now).

“Is everything alright?” Shin asked as he returned to the table.

Whis gave a weak smile. “I cannot convey how glad I am to see you alive and well, sir.”

Shin glanced at Kibito and Old Kai, wondering what that was supposed to mean. “I am very well, thank you. Has something happened? Does it have to do with why Lord Beerus isn’t with you today?”

Whis nodded slowly and Kibito got up to pour him some tea.

“Lord Beerus…is gone.” Whis detailed everything that had happened since he first felt Beerus’s ki disappear. “…but if you are alive, then so is he, somewhere out there.”

Old Kai had had Kibito bring out a crystal ball while listening to the story.

“You know, sonny, I’m sure your staff has the power to see the past and present.” Old Kai focused and stared into the ball. “Why didn’t you just have a look?”

Whis hoped his face wasn’t too red as he realised that he really had been in such a state that he hadn’t even remembered to do something so simple.

The Old Kai hummed as he looked, prompting Shin to go and peer over his shoulder. Whis watched the pair, seeing Shin’s brow furrow too.

“What do you see?”

“The planet just explodes,” Old Kai said. “As if from within. No matter what angle I look from I can’t see anyone else there.”

Shin placed a hand on the ball and began to search for himself, spending a few minutes reviewing the footage. “I’m sure you would have known if there was someone else on the planet before you left. I can’t see anyone arriving after you leave.”

“Can you see Lord Beerus?” Whis asked.

“No. Of course, we can only see ‘as far as the eye can see.’ I presume he was asleep when you left?”

Whis nodded. Their instruments weren’t able to see inside of buildings, caves, and the like. It was best that way, or he was sure Old Kai would never leave his crystal ball alone.

“So, perhaps whoever has taken Lord Beerus has an ability like instant transmission and was able to manifest directly inside the castle?”

It was a logical explanation, but – “There are very few people who have been inside Lord Beerus’s castle, and such abilities rely on the knowledge of the space you’re teleporting to.”

Old Kai grinned. “Then we have a nice short list of suspects, eh?”

Just then Shin pointed to the sky. “There goes another one!”

Old Kai turned to Whis. “You know, we thought Beerus was on a destroying spree earlier, but I guess that’s not him out there doing that?”

Whis was lost for words as he looked skyward. “I need to make some calls to my siblings first.”

Shin watched him get up and walk away so he couldn’t be overheard. “Do you think we’re under attack again?”

“I’ll say it again,” Old Kai said, “We’re not going to get any peace until Goku dies for good.”

Inside, Whis was fuming at the idea that one of the other destroyers could be zooming around his universe blowing up planets while Beerus was hostage back in their universe, but he didn’t let any of it show as he called up his siblings.

He called Vados first, because Champa was the most likely to do something like this, and because he felt Vados would be the most likely to help him.

“You’re telling me you’ve _lost_ him?” Vados asked.

Champa was howling with laughter in the background. “How does an angel _lose_ a destroyer? Unheard of!”

“Not lost… _stolen_ is more appropriate. I’m just asking if you know anything about this.”

The pair on the other end seemed to be genuinely clueless about the whole affair, so Whis’s suspicions were lessened.

“Hey, you better find my brother! I’ll…” Champa huffed and turned away as he said, “I’ll help you if you need it, but don’t tell him I even offered!”

Whis was touched by the gesture, knowing Beerus would do the same if Champa was the missing person.

“Have you asked the others yet?” Vados asked.

“No, you’re the first.”

Vados nodded and gave him some advice about approaching the other angels.

The rest of the conversations were held out of earshot of the other destroyers so that word didn’t leak out, and to make sure Whis could get the truth. If this really was the work of another destroyer, they likely would have sworn their angel to secrecy, but Whis could invoke the law of neutrality to negate that. Of course, had Whis discovered Beerus was in another universe this way, he wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone that lest he risk violating that law himself.

11 conversations later, Whis was more in the dark than before. He much preferred half an hour ago when he could pretend he knew the culprit was another destroyer. Now the suspect pool was a lot wider.

“Whoever it is, they can move between universes. How many people do you know who can do that?” Old Kai asked.

Whis was about to answer, but suddenly stopped. “You can do that, can’t you?”

Shin frowned. “You aren’t suggesting a _Supreme Kai_ not only kidnapped Lord Beerus, but also destroyed his home?”

“Not at all, I am only pointing out that they have the ability to move between universes and should not be discounted from our list of _potential_ suspects – or perhaps accomplices? For all we know, the next Zamasu is already among us.”

There was a grimace from the kais.

Suddenly Shin clapped. “I know of a way to sort this out relatively quickly. You said the very first thing you noticed was the absence of Lord Beerus’s ki, so, if I take you to the other universes, you’ll be able to tell if he’s there just by being there too, right?”

For the first time that day since that sundae had been placed before him, Whis smiled. “Yes. Yes, I think that’s a splendid plan!”

“Hey! Whis!”

Goku was waving as he walked towards them.

“Goku? What are you doing here?” Whis asked.

Goku greeted the kais quickly before turning to Whis. “Well, Bulma called me up and said you were acting weird. She said you didn’t finish your dessert and left suddenly – without saying bye or taking anything back! So she was a bit worried something was wrong and asked if I’d check up on you and bring this.” He placed a beautifully wrapped box on the table, but Whis didn’t spare it a glance.

“Very thoughtful, but I really don’t warrant checking up on.”

Goku grinned. “I know, but I was bored of farming. I didn’t think I’d find you to be honest. I couldn’t sense Lord Beerus’s ki no matter how hard I tried, so I thought you guys might be off in another universe or something. Bulma’s really smart though, so she said to ask Supreme Kai if he knew anything, but hey, here you are!” Goku gave a big smile before growing serious. “Is Lord Beerus okay? I can’t sense him at all, but you’re here and he’s not?”

Whis sighed. Goku wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box, but he was still sharp enough when it mattered. “I don’t know where Lord Beerus is,” Whis admitted. Best not to bog Goku down with all the details.

Goku cocked a brow and titled his head. “Huh? How can you not know? Don’t you know, like, _everything_ he does?”

“I’m sure every angel aspires to be so omnipotent.”

Goku continued on as if he understood that word. “Well, I’ll help you find him!”

Shin couldn’t help but smile as he watched Goku say that as if it would be easy. “Goku, we’re going to search the other universes for Lord Beerus. Perhaps you’d like to come with us?”

“Really? That’s so cool! I really wanna check out Universe 1, and 11, and –“

Whis cut him off. “We won’t be there for long.”

“Oh. Well, anything is better than nothing!”

Shin held out a hand to both of them. “Shall we start with Universe 1 and work in order?”

Whis nodded and they kai-kai’d seconds later.

“Where’s this?” Goku asked, tapping the grass with a foot.

“This is the Sacred World of the Kai of Universe 1. It’s where I’ll be taking us in each universe as it’s somewhere I’m familiar with and has an atmosphere you’ll agree with, Goku. Now, let’s focus on finding Lord Beerus.”

“Here’s not here,” Whis said.

“Wow, that was fast…” Goku whispered.

Shin gripped their hands again and moments later they were on a very similar planet, but the hue of the sky was different.

This time Goku focused hard as soon as they landed, hoping he could figure out if Beerus was here or not before Whis made the final call.

“No,” Whis said.

The scenery changed ever so slightly again. Once again Goku wasn’t able to be certain before Whis announced his verdict.

“Angel powers really are something, huh?” Goku mused when Whis cleared Universe 4 of harbouring Beerus.

“The pair of you are searching for Lord Beerus’s ki, correct? I am merely feeling the absence of it. After so many millions of years by his side, being in a universe without his presence feels strange. It is beyond you, Goku, as a mortal, to be able to pick this up as quick as me.”

“Say, Supreme Kai, aren’t you and Lord Beerus linked or something? Can’t _you_ find him faster?”

Shin coughed. “Ah, well, that’s… I feel my link to Lord Beerus no matter the distance. Whether he’s a universe away, or right beside me, that link doesn’t feel any different. Of course, if he’s right beside me, his presence is quite overwhelming…”

Whis squeezed Shin’s hand, prompting him to move on. Universe 5 was also Beerus-free, but Shin was starting to shake.

“Is he here?!” Goku asked, even though Whis had just declared he was not.

“No, no… I’m just…” Shin fell into Whis’s arms. “I’ve never hopped between 5 universes one after another like this. If I take you to Universe 6, maybe Fuwa will take you to a few in my stead?”

“No,” Whis said without pausing for thought. “This information should be kept between as few of us as possible.” The angels wouldn’t talk, and Champa wouldn’t announce the disappearance of his brother, but Fuwa wouldn’t feel any obligation to keep the information to himself. “We should return to Universe 7; your health is just as important, sir.” Although Whis had several ideas about how to get through the other universes as quickly as possible, he had to prioritise Shin’s safety or there could be no Beerus left to find.

“Alright.” Shin held out his hand to Goku.

“You sure you don’t want to take a few minutes?” Goku asked. “You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine,” Shin insisted. “We should go before Ogma notices we’re here.”

They arrived back in Universe 7 where Old Kai and Kibito were still waiting, and Shin collapsed on a chair, immediately prompting Kibito to fuss over him.

“Thank you for your assistance.” Whis inclined his head. “I will continue alone from here.”

“Eh? I’ll go too!” Goku said.

“I appreciate the thought, Goku, but as you’ve seen, I require no assistance in this.”

Shin attempted to get up, but that final universe jump really had taken it out of him. He locked eyes with Kibito and that was all that needed to be said between the two.

“Whis, would you spare a few moments to walk with me?” Kibito asked.

Whis let him lead the way, out of earshot of the others.

“I speak for us all when I say we think it’s best that you take Goku with you.” He paused, just in case Whis wished to say anything. “It’s clear that you’re finding the situation difficult, so we just feel that taking someone with you would be beneficial. Of course, Goku comes with the added benefit of instant transmission should you wish to instantly return to us.”

Whis sighed. “I will work harder to conceal my feelings in the future.”

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think Goku has noticed the extent of your discomfort. Truly, I do feel for you. I am counting my blessings that the Supreme Kai has never disappeared like this, but I hope that his presence soothes you somewhat.”

“If Lord Beerus is being held prisoner with the threat of death held over his head, we won’t know until it’s too late.”

It was the harsh reality of the situation, and it made Kibito glance back at Shin. Of course, if that were the case, Whis would be powerless to intervene lest his risk his own existence. He wondered if Beerus would be as pained to lose him as he would to lose Beerus, but he didn’t dwell on such a morbid idea as Kibito was speaking again.

“ – but I’m confident I can get you to Universe 6 and back. Perhaps by the time you’ve been to Universes 8 and 9, either myself or my lord will be able to accompany you to Universe 10.”

“Well, I do appreciate it, but could you take me to Universe 10 rather than 6?”

Champa would surely have already tried to sense his twin in his own universe, and as Vados hadn’t called back, he presumed the trip to Universe 6 was a lower priority.

Kibito called for Goku to come over, and Whis offered his hand, however, Kibito was more of a hand-on-shoulder kind of kai.

The trip to Universe 10 was as short as all the other trips, and as Kibito was feeling rather good, he took them to Universe 11 too.

Whis wasted no time in zooming off towards the crossing point between Universes 7 and 12.

“Why are you in such a hurry to get Lord Beerus back?” Goku asked to fill the silence of the journey. “Isn’t now like, time off? Isn’t this the closest thing you’ll get to a holiday?”

“No. If you lost one of your children, would you consider that time off of being a parent?”

Goku laughed. “I guess not, I just died a couple of time to get out of parenting.”

Whis’s eyes widened slightly at the way Goku nonchalantly admitted this fact.

“But it’s not like Lord Beerus is your kid. If you lose him, you can just replace him, right? I mean, weren’t you eyeing up me and Vegeta as potential replacements?”

“I wasn’t planning to have you replace him in the immediate future. I was merely going to ensure you remained in Other World until the time came.” The Buu debacle had made him realise that Beerus really could die through no fault of his own, and now that their universe was following the single Supreme Kai model, he had to be more cautious. Well, it had only taken him some 5 million years to find a few potential replacement destroyers. Of course, he rather hoped the Saiyans would remain in Other World forever, never needing to be called on. “Do I give off the appearance of someone wishing to replace their destroyer?”

“Oh no, no!” Goku said, hearing a melancholic tone in Whis’s words that he wasn’t used to. “It seems like you really don’t wanna lose him. You’re really going to the ends of the universe for him, you know?!” Goku couldn’t help but chuckle at his own joke.

“I certainly am. Prepare yourself.”

The feeling of passing through universes at a crossing point was a unique one that made one feel out of sorts; it was like passing through a layer of jelly that wasn’t there and being flipped upside down at the same time. Unfortunately for Goku, he experienced it twice in the space of a minute.

With Universe 12 down, it was another trek across the universe to the crossing point for Universe 9.

“Why didn’t we just cross from Universe 12 to 9?” Goku asked. “Why did we come back?”

Whis was starting to think maybe he should just drop Goku off to avoid all the chit-chat. Naturally, asking him to be silent would be a waste of breath. “Because although you may think I know everything, I only know everything about this universe. It would take longer to locate the crossing in another universe, navigate whatever obstacles we stumble across on our way, and risk bumping into, or simply alerting, people I’m trying to avoid.”

“So, you really _do_ know everything about this universe?!”

Goku’s line of questioning became more general, not related to the matter at hand, and perhaps Whis enjoyed whiling away the time thinking about something else.

Once they had zipped in and out of Universe 8, Whis asked for Goku to return them to the Sacred Planet of the Kais.

“Huh, but what about Universe 6?”

“I will go alone.”

“But why?”

“I have things to discuss with my sister.”

Goku knew that tone Whis used meant he wouldn’t get any more answers from the angel.

Shin frowned when they returned. “You still haven’t found him?” He was getting slightly anxious now.

“Unless my sister and Lord Champa are lying, then Lord Beerus isn’t anywhere in the 12 universes.”

“Then, possibly he’s…with the Grand Zenos?” Shin suggested.

Whis’s brows knitted together. “Why wouldn’t my father inform me if he was? After so many hours he should have found a spare moment to call. I… I’m going to consult my sister.”

He took off before anyone could persuade him to stay longer or take someone with him. This role of attendant had been his for millions of years, but this was the first time he’d been unable to locate Beerus for _hours_. Would this be considered a failure? What was going to happen to him now?

And _where_ was Beerus? Whis found he cared a lot more about Beerus’s current state than he’d like to admit. Was he doing okay? Shin’s suggestion that he was with the Zenos did nothing to make Whis feel any better. In fact, he’d much rather have found Beerus held hostage by someone like Quitela.

He passed through to Universe 6, and continued as quickly as he could to Champa’s planet.

Vados said exactly the same as Shin; there was only one place left to check. “Unless, of course, someone has him trapped in a pocket dimension, or something that shields him from being detected.”

“Now that really would be a headache.”

“So, you’re hoping he’s with the Grand Zenos?” Vados asked.

“Gods no, but yes. I just don’t understand why father wouldn’t have informed me. And, speaking of father, he will know as soon as I cross the boundary to visit the Palace. I will surely have some explaining to do.”

“You simply have to tell him the truth,” Vados said as if it was exceedingly obvious. “I know, it’s an embarrassing situation to admit that you’re in, but it has happened. He might already know. Don’t tell me you were considering lying to father?”

“N-no. I… Well, my dear sister, this is why I came in person to see you.”

She paused for a moment. “Lord Beerus ordered you to go to Earth to obtain food, right?”

“You could say that.” More like Bulma invited him to lunch, and _then_ Beerus told him not to come back empty-handed (which of course he would never dare).

“You _will_ say that,” Vados said, “If you’re asked about your lack of presence at the scene. Then you can recount your arduous journey across the universes looking for your charge, as that is your job. I know you don’t want to lose him as much as I don’t really want to lose Lord Champa, but you are within your rights to go looking for him as long as that’s _all_ you do. I would argue that if you’re not looking for him, then you’re actively avoiding your work. In fact, if I were you I would make sure you get your Supreme Kai to take you there immediately rather than do a 2-day trip.”

Whis was nodding along the whole time. “You’re right. Absolutely right. How are you able to make things clear as day when I had everything so muddied?”

Vados sighed. “I know it’s difficult for you, but you need to stop thinking about this situation with Lord Beerus as the one who is missing. It’s your _destroyer_ who is missing – the person who keeps you in a job in your universe. As long as you don’t rush in and save him, you will be fine. Yes, you have to remain neutral, but you also have a job to do. Now, I’ve kept you long enough. Do you think you can do what needs to be done?”

Whis smiled for what felt like the first time in ages. “I’m forever grateful for my big sister’s wisdom. Know that I’d love to give you a hug to say thanks.”

“Do not.”

Whis left without delay. As he flew through Universe 6 he noticed someone was trying to contact him. Shin’s and Goku’s faces appeared in his staff and his heart skipped a beat as his mind flew through the most likely reasons they were contacting him.

“Whis! Where are you?!” Goku yelled as if he didn’t know how well his voice would be picked up.

“I’m just leaving Universe 6. Has something happened?” He didn’t dare to ask if Beerus had turned up.

“Well, yes,” Shin said. “Lord Beerus’s planet is back.”

Whis looked very confused.

Shin explained further. “We were showing Goku what had happened to the planet, but when we looked, the planet was in-tact. In fact, we’re here right now.” Shin moved the crystal ball so that the castle was visible.

“Just the planet?”

Shin nodded. “Just the planet. We’ve checked all over, but couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Of course, you would be the best judge of that…”

“I’m heading there immediately. Don’t leave.”

Shin was glad that Whis finally wanted some company, but didn’t realise that actually Whis just wanted to make sure Shin conserved his energy for the trip to Zeno’s Palace.

This was a most curious turn of events. After visiting all the universes, he felt that he should no longer suspect any of the other destroyers, but now… What this looked like was a Supreme Kai fixing their destroyer’s mess. Certainly if he asked Shin, the kai would agree that he would fix another’s planet in a situation such as this. Who else would come by and fix a mess like this several hours later?

The baffling situation kept Whis’s thoughts occupied until he returned. Once he touched down, he tapped the ground with his staff. It seemed to be as expected – not a projection or strange imitation.

“Whis!” Goku waved from where he sat, closer to the castle.

“When did this happen?”

Shin brought over a crystal ball. “About half an hour before we called you? We replayed the moment several times, on several different balls too… It was a perfect reversal of the destruction, even down to the detail of no one being present.”

Whis frowned. “How interesting.” Probably not a Supreme Kai then. “I have a request, but first I must check something inside.”

He flew up through the window of the staircase closest to Beerus’s room. If the planet was put back exactly how it was just before it was destroyed, then perhaps he could find a clue as to what happened to Beerus. The tall doors were closed, and he studied them briefly before entering. No holes in the walls or ceiling, no signs of Beerus having woken up and fought the intruder. In fact, no sign that there _was_ an intruder, but whoever took Beerus had taken his bed with him.

Whis’s shoulders slumped and he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the idea that at this very moment Beerus could be out there sleeping through his own kidnapping. The thought did give him some comfort though.

Whis returned to where he had left Shin and Goku. “Sir, if I could ask for your assistance one last time today?”

“Yes, anything.”

“If you are up to the trip, would you take me to Grand Zenos’ Palace?”

Shin’s expression was one of dread, but he quickly covered it up with a smile. “Of course, that’s surely the only other place he could be, right?”

“I do apologise for asking this of you, but it’s a 2 day trip for me otherwise.”

Shin nodded. “I know, it’s the least I can do for you. Perhaps I can just wait outside?”

Whis smiled. “I think it would be best for you to greet the Grand Leaders if you’re there, and of course, they will know you’re there. Besides, you can’t be seen to be acting as a chauffeur service for an angel, can you?”

“Q-quite right.” Shin stood a bit straighter. “Naturally, one is always ready to greet the Grand Leaders.”

“Can I come too?!” Goku butted in.

“No!” Shin said quickly. His heart really couldn’t take another audience that involved Goku.

“Supreme Kai is right,” Whis said. “While I know you’re friends with both Grand Zenos, it wouldn’t be wise for us to take you along on such personal business. You’re involvement might reflect badly…” Whis trailed off as he realised he really didn’t need to explain himself to Goku. Truly he felt a little bad for involving Shin to this degree, but it was necessary in his opinion.

“Aw, man! Would you tell Zenny I said hi, at least?”

The pair of deities smiled, but made no promises. Shin got them out of there to avoid more awkwardness.

They stood outside the palace, neither could be described as calm and collected, even if they appeared to be so. It took the longest 30 seconds of their lives for the Grand Minister to greet them.

He inclined his head slightly towards Shin. “Supreme Kai, Whis, welcome. We were not expecting you today, so I must inform you that Grand Zeno is currently napping.”

Beside him, Whis heard Shin exhale in relief.

“Please accept our apologies for not calling ahead,” Whis said. “However, Father, I think you may be able to help us.”

“Oh? Is there a problem?”

“Lord Beerus has gone missing and is not to be found in any of the 12 universes. Earlier his planet was destroyed by an unknown force, and several hours later reconstructed exactly as before, only Lord Beerus and his bed missing.” Whis was going to say more as he begged his father for help, but he had caught that slight change in expression, suggesting the Grand Minister indeed knew something about the affair.

The Grand Minister raised his fist to his mouth and lightly coughed. “How strange. It would seem I can sense Lord Beerus’s presence in Universe 7…”

Whis raised his brows. “Is that so?”

“On this occasion, please accept my apologies. Earlier, the Grand Zenos were playing a game of destruction, during which Lord Beerus’s planet was destroyed. To avoid the problems associated with the God of Destruction dying,” his eyes flicked to Shin, “I secured Lord Beerus in a pocket dimension to allow the game to continue without interruption. Naturally I wouldn’t forget about you, so I captured all living beings in the pocket dimension. I presumed that would include you, but evidently not.”

“You didn’t check?” Shin let slip, quickly bowing his head when the Grand Minister looked over.

“I was busy attending to the Grand Zenos, and keeping an eye on the game so that they didn’t do something like destroy the Sacred Planet of the Kais next. Unfortunately, Lord Beerus’s planet was destroyed quite early on in the game, so when the time came to clear away and restore the planets, I had forgotten I had sealed him away.” He bowed to them both. “My apologies for making you both worry over this matter.”

“It is in the past,” Whis said. “Please give our greetings to the Grand Zenos when they wake.”

Shin bowed and held out a hand to Whis.

“Oh, and Goku said hi,” Whis said before they disappeared.

Shin looked up at the sky when they returned. “So, all the other planets are back too. But the way he spoke… It sounded like all those mortals on those planets were killed and revived during the game.”

“I do believe that’s the case.”

Shin’s brows furrowed. “That’s horrible. I hope they don’t remember it.”

“That’s our Grand Leader for you.” Whis looked down at Shin, who had taken to sitting on the ground. “I don’t suppose you have enough strength to take me home, do you? If Goku’s not _here_ , he’s probably still _there_ , alone with Lord Beerus.”

Shin fell back on the grass. “You really ask too much, Whis. Trips between universes, a trip outside the universes to stand in the presence of one of the most imposing people I’ve ever met, and now you want me to go and see Lord Beerus when he might have been woken up by our favourite mortal? Can’t Kibito take you this time?”

“I truly am grateful for everything you’ve done today. If there is any way for me to pay you back, do tell me.”

“You can start by asking Kibito to take you home. But otherwise you don’t need to repay me – you do enough for me as it is. It’s been nice to repay _you_ for once. Not often a Supreme Kai gets to help an angel. But, Whis, can I ask, have you really let it go so easily?”

“What do you mean?”

“You told the Grand Minister, ‘it’s all in the past’ as if you hadn’t spent all day worrying over this.”

“In the moment it was difficult, but now I can feel the background noise that’s Lord Beerus’s ki permeating through the universe, I am at ease. In a hundred years’ time this will be a story we regale as if it wasn’t worth truly fretting over, and in a million years it will be a legendary tale full of embellished details to make it sound more interesting than it actually was.” Whis gave a smile. “Besides, knowing who was behind this, what else can I do but smile graciously and be glad to have my lord back?”

“I suppose. Say, what would have happened if you were trapped in there too? And he forgot to release you?”

“Had I been in there, I’m confident I would have figured it out, and after time had passed would have reminded Father to release us. If not, we would have relied on someone alerting you. Eventually there would have been the same conclusion. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should get back to work.”

Kibito took him straight home, and promptly disappeared without waiting to be caught up in whatever happened next.

Beerus wasn’t in his room as expected, so Whis headed to the dining room, which was the next likely place. On the way he passed the Oracle Fish.

He shot her a look, making his displeasure evident. “You could have warned me about today.”

She shrugged. “You didn’t ask. It wasn’t anything to worry about.”

“So, he slept through it, then? Or did you have to entertain him?”

“I slept too, it was great.”

Whis huffed and left her behind.

In the dining room, Beerus was sitting there in his night gown, listening to Goku recount the day’s events while scoffing the mochi Bulma had sent. It was another reminder of how terrible his state had been today; the food Goku had tried to give him had been left on the Sacred Planet of the Kais, and Goku must have been the one to bring it here while he was off in other universes.

“…took us to the next universe, but then he got exhausted too, so Whis said we’d just travel the angel way. Say, Lord Beerus, do _you_ know why angels can’t use the same kind of instant transmission as the kais? It seems so weird when they can do just about everything else.”

“Get back to the story, Goku.”

Whis held back for a moment, wondering if maybe it’d be best for Goku to tell the story. It would save him some trouble…

“Supreme Kai made Whis take me with him, and we went to all the other universes except Universe 6.”

“Why?” Beerus asked. “Why did the Supreme Kai request that?”

Goku shrugged. “He said he was worried about Whis. You know, he was really worried about you, Lord Beerus! He wouldn’t stop until he’d found you. But then he dropped me back with Supreme Kai so he could go off to Universe 6.” Goku laughed. “Supreme Kai thought I’d said something to make him drop me back, but at that point I didn’t even know I’d been sent to babysit!”

Beerus snorted at the idea of Whis being babysat, and by Goku no less. “Do you know why he got rid of you?”

Another shrug. “Well, I mean, I _did_ talk a lot. Asked a lot of questions… He was probably just bored of all my chit-chat.”

Whis decided now was the time to take over; Goku didn’t know most of what happened next anyway. “Good evening, Lord Beerus. Goku, did you wake my lord?”

“No!” Goku said defensively. “An alarm went off!”

Whis arced a brow.

Beerus got up and hummed. “Yes, I set them in case you spent too long partying on Earth and forgot to bring my dinner back.”

“Thank you for your assistance today, Goku. You should get back and tell Bulma all is well again.”

Goku frowned. “But I want to hear the rest of the story from you.”

“Another time, Goku.”

Unfortunately, Goku knew when he was being dismissed, and when it came to these two, he never wanted to push his luck too much. Backing off early often did him favours in the future. Goku put two fingers to his forehead and searched for the Supreme Kai’s ki, figuring there was another way to get the conclusion today.

Once Goku was gone, Whis stepped forward and pulled Beerus into his arms. It felt like a wave of relief was washing over him; sometimes being able to touch something to make sure it was real was what was needed. He held him tight so that Beerus would understand the weight of his next words.

“I missed you _so_ much,” he whispered. He felt it needed to be admitted, but it would be much harder to say once Beerus was looking at him. It was still rather embarrassing, so he hid his face between Beerus’s ears, resisting the urge to kiss the god’s forehead. Truly all he wanted to do was hold onto Beerus all day until he understood how much Whis loved him.

“Whis…” Beerus complained, not used to being held like this.

Whis let go, holding onto Beerus’s shoulders as he stepped back to look him up and down. “You’re really fine?”

“Yes?”

“Goku told you this planet was blown up, right?”

“Yes. And now you get to explain the rest to me.”

Beerus listened attentively to the story, not interrupting, because of course Whis didn’t skip any details that were of interest to Beerus.

“You really went to all 12 universes _and_ Grand Zeno’s Palace in a day? For me?”

“Naturally. It’s my job.”

Beerus looked at him in disbelief. “You just hugged me for the first time in how many millennia? Told me you missed me, and now you’re trying to play it off as work? Sure, Whis, I believe you.”

“A brief moment of sentimentality. I must say I’m just slightly annoyed that you slept through the whole thing and can’t truly appreciate my suffering.”

“So you’d rather I went mad doing nothing in a pocket dimension for however many hours I was locked up in there? You know I would’ve just chosen to go back to bed seeing as my bed was supposedly there too.”

Whis sighed. “No, I’m glad you rested well. Compared to the things I thought might be happening to you, to hear you slept well delights me.”

There was a moment of silence where Beerus waited to see if Whis would divulge what thoughts he’d had, and Whis waited to see if Beerus wanted to know badly enough that he’d ask. In the end, Beerus figured Whis had come to the worst case scenario, and that was one of the reasons he’d kept Shin close by.

Beerus got up and stretched, thinking he’d like to end this conversation by doing something else. Unfortunately for him, he was actually quite awake now, so going back to bed to avoid it was out. Still, he had one last thing to add.

“Thanks.” Beerus hesitated before patting Whis’s shoulder. “I, uh, do appreciate everything you do for me, and I wanted you to know that. Hey, don’t laugh at me! I’m trying to be sincere for once!”

“I know. You don’t have to say anything, my lord.”

“I wanted to. We don’t often talk as frankly as this, so I couldn’t let the opportunity pass.”

“Well then, know that I appreciate it.”

“And I appreciate you. Now, I’m going to go change out of this.” He considered that to be a smooth transition.

Whis jumped up. “Ah, let me go and get you a fresh set of clothes. Oh, it _is_ wonderful to still be in a job!”

**Author's Note:**

> I could go on, but I’ve hit the just-about-canon-compliant line here I feel.   
> But in a shocking turn of events I decided to write another fluffy chapter (as a separate fic). Please enjoy it if you were hoping for more!  
> Also have you seen this art @olchnn drew for this fic? https://twitter.com/olcchn/status/1353813225880645634?s=20 Please give them some love!!


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